Thursday, 7 January 2016

Where do you find
inspiration? On the bus. On the verge of sleep. On a run. At the gym or in the
shower maybe. This is something I've had to think about lately after starting a
creative writing course. It's a question I've been asked a couple of times and
something I hadn't really thought of before (well despite noting that I always
seem to think of the perfect ending forthat essay I've been stuck on for the last week just before I'm about to
fall to sleep.) I think that inspiration can occur anywhere except for when you're
I'm looking for it, so I tend to take inspiration from my surroundings. If like
me you struggle to find inspiration when you need it most of all - fear no more
because that's what this post is all about.

The remedy for your
lack of inspiration or motivation (yes I am talking like a doctor) will depend
on what you're needing inspiration for. For example if I need to organize my
bedroom (code for: clean the bomb site) I find I'm more likely to do it
afterwatching a ton of room tour videos
on YouTube - because they all look like something out of a showroom. Which is
all well and good but this won't help me get my bum to the gym - so I'm
splitting this into sub-headings for you to find the right cure for all of your
inspirational problems - which should save you from having to read a load of
rambling that's not related to your problem. Obviously these aren't 'the ultimate cures' for a lack of
motivation or inspiration they're just things that help me when I'm struggling
to get things done - like that essay I keep putting off.

Lack of motivation
to work out

Some people find
the cure for this is reading inspirational quotes or looking on YouTube at
workout videos - but for me these don't work and to be quite honest watching someone
else work out makes me feel exhausted. To get me off the sofa and to the gym I
like to watch things like 90210 or Revenge (no that's not just an excuse to
delay going for another hour) or I look at my favourite bloggers like Luanna
Perez and The Line Up and tell myself that I could wear what they're wearing if
I go to the gym. Sometimes this still doesn't work because let’s face it it's
not the best solution so I just have to accept the fact that things aren't
going to change and I won't feel better about myself if I don't get up off my
bum and go to the gym. I find that going early in the morning helps because it
motivates me for the rest of the day and I can't think of as many excuses not
to go when I've just woken up. Something else that helps me when I don't want
to go to the gym is the My Diet Coach app because it has sections that you can
click on and get advice for things like motivational fades, exercise laziness
and food cravings.

Creative writing
inspiration

So I've already
told you that I've recently started creative writing but despite not doing the
course for very long the dreaded writers block has already struck once or twice
(it doesn't discriminate or take it easy on newbies) meaning it can sometimes
be hard to start stories or poems. For this, it can take me a while to get
motivated or find something that inspires a plot. Sometimes it can be as easy
as just listening to music and concentrating on that for a while, not thinking
about the fact I have to write an assignment- younever know a lyric
could resonate with you and spark off a whole plot idea. Other times it takes
more. Like actually leaving the barricades of my bed and going into the big
wide world. This could mean going to the gym to clear my head or sitting in a
coffee shop - yes I am that weird person that does eaves drop on peoples
conversations - but this is encouraged by creative writing teachers (no
recorders though). Although that seems invasive and kind of creepy you might
hear a snippet of somebody’s phone conversation and that person could inspire
the protagonist you've been working on creating for weeks - it worked for
Robert Garner McBrearty with 'What
Happened to Laura?'. Recently I've found that the most effective way of
finding inspiration is filling in a journal I've been set as part of my course.
The idea of the journal is to write down any ideas that come to us so that if
we're having writers block we can go back to it - which is all well and good
but what if we have writers block to begin with? So I decided to approach the
journal in a different way - making it more of a visual aid than a place to
store information (of course I do still note things down in it as well).I've
added quotes from my favourite writers, random words to help spark ideas for
scenarios and some pages that just have images on to inspire characters or
settings.

I learn in visual
ways so for me this is great and it's something I love to do so it doesn't seem
like a chore when I'm making it. If you learn in a similar way this could also
work for you (if you have the time to do it). Alternatively you could read
books or short stories in the hopes of creating characters or plots inspired by
the ones you've read but I'd personally find myself repeating the original
stories so this isn't for everyone. It could even help to read quotes from your
favourite writers (or maybe even writers you've never heard of - ask your friends
about their favourite writers or look on website like BuzzFeed or Bustle).

Essays

Although it seems
similar this is not the same as the previous point. There is no amount of
visual projects that will help me write an essay on mergers and takeovers for
my business class. For this I would suggest maybe talking to someone in your
class and see what they're ideas are on the topic. If you don't talk to anyone
in your class or maybe you've left it too lateand don't want to admit that you haven't started it yet Iwould personally turn to online student
boards (make sure you only use these for inspiration though and don't copy from
them because they aren't necessarily always the most reliable source). I find
that even if it's not the same question a point someone has made may create
that light bulb moment in my head and remind me of something my teacher has
said to me. Other times I find it helps to simply go over your notes as this is
probably going to be the most reliable method and your teacher probably made
you write something down to help with this essay but you thought nothing of it
at the time.

Art/drawing/photography
(artsy projects)

I've always found
that art/ photography teachers tend to like spider diagrams which to their
credit can work really well to help start your creative juices flowing but not
everyone likes them. So if you've come to a dead end with a project or maybe
you just feel like drawing but don't know what to draw I would suggest flipping
through the pages of magazines. This works particularly well for photography
(providing the magazines have some substance and aren't just gossip magazines -
although these may help with creative writing or projects on paparazzi/ voyeurism),
magazines like BGP or Vice are really good for this and vice magazines are
free. If you're doing a project on fashion reading fashion magazines or even
looking at online versions should really help. If you're doing art you may also
find inspirations in photos but this might not work as well for you if you're
looking for artists, in which case google may be your best friend or maybe go
to your local library or book shop to look at books that are loosely (or more
relevant depending on what you can find) based on your project. Book shops like
Waterstones are really good for this because you can sit and read the books in
there without feeling pressured into buying them (which is great when you just
want to find new artists). Looking at books might also help to send your work
in a different (potentially better) direction than you'd originally
anticipated. If all else fails just interact with others. Talk to friends or
people in your class to see if they have any ideas. If you're feeling
particularly antisocial or maybe you're just not in a friendly mood go to
exhibitions (especially if they're free) you never know even the ones you think
you have no interest in may inspire you.

Room inspiration

I feel like this is
fairly obvious - I get really inspired by Instagram, blogs and websites.
Websites like Next home and Laura Ashley can be really good if you don't know
how to decorate a room and looking on their website doesn't necessarily mean
you have to buy things from there. I use the websites to get inspiration with
colours and textures because they tend to show you whole rooms rather than just
showing the bed or the curtains. If you can't find any photos like these on the
websites - shops like John Lewis and Next have magazines with them in (although
you have to pay for the one from Next) again you don't have to buy anything
from the magazines they're just meant to give you ideas just like regular
magazines. Places like IKEA are really good to go and have a look around (the
showrooms) but if you can't really be bothered to do this I find it helps to
pay close attention to rooms in programmes on the TV or friends rooms.
Alternatively when I can't decide what to do with my room and want inspiration
I just look on BuzzFeed or Pinterest. If it's not the whole room decor you're
looking for but specific things to go in your room I would also suggest using
these websites or apps like 'the hunt'.

A new look

If you're starting
a new school/ year/ uni and you've decided you want to go for a whole new look
(or maybe you're not starting anywhere new and have decided you've just
outgrown your old look) going around town or looking in shops is probably the
simplest solution. Other than that again blogs, websites, Instagram and
magazines are probably the way forward - at least that's what I look at when
I'm needing a new look. I also like to go on YouTube and watch look books -
channels like The Line Up, Clothes Encounters and Le-Happy are some of my
favourites. One of my favourite websites and probably the best suggestion I can
give you for this is Lookbook.nu. It's full of all different people with their
own individual styles, the majority of the people on there have blogs so it
could mean that you find you're new favourite bloggers on there. The website is
also really easy to join and post on so if you're happy with your new look and
feel like showing us you could be one of the people that inspires someone
else's style.

I hope that this
helped with something and wasn't a complete waste of your time, if it did or
you have any advice I'd love to hear it. So I better get back to that dreaded
essay now that I've motivated myself i might even go to the gym after I've
finished. Yeah I'm sure that will happen.